From recent experience in New York, guardianship courts on applications where individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities may have some higher functioning capabilities, I find judges are often frustrated with the current 17-A guardianship law as it cannot be tailored to an individual’s needs and supports to enable them to retain certain autonomy and decision-making rights. While we do not have a law in place, judges have been referring certain matters for supported decision-making agreements as a less restrictive alternative to guardianship.
In January, my colleague, Sandi Rosenbaum, wrote an excellent article on supported decision-making which you can find here.
The purpose of this post is to provide you with an update on proposed legislation in New York.
Earlier this year, New York State Senator John Mannion introduced a bill which would create statutory authority for supported decision-making agreements by people with intellectual, developmental, cognitive and psychosocial disabilities.
